How to Import a Chart of Accounts into Xero

Welcome to the Fit Small Business Xero training course! In our last lesson, we showed you how to set up a chart of accounts. This lesson is for those who already use accounting software and want to import their existing chart of accounts list into Xero.

You can follow along on your own Xero account. If you don’t have one already, click here to sign up for a free 30-day trial and follow along below.

To complete this lesson, you can either watch the video below, read through the step-by-step instructions, or do both. Let’s begin!

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How Do I Import a Chart of Accounts List?

Before you can import your chart of accounts, it is ideal to have your old list in an Excel or .CSV format so that you can easily copy and paste the information to the chart of accounts template we will download from Xero.

Most accounting software programs will give you the option to download your chart of accounts list into a spreadsheet format. If your current accounting software does not allow you to do this then you will have to manually key the information into the Xero chart of accounts template.

Once you’ve got your list, follow these steps to import your chart of accounts list into Xero.

Step 1 – Navigate to Chart of Accounts

From the Settings menu, select General Settings as indicated in the screenshot below.

Step 2 – Navigate to Import Screen

From the chart of accounts menu, select the “Import” button as indicated in the screenshot below.

Step 3 – Download Import Template

From the Import your chart of accounts screen, click on the blue link directly below Example file on the right side of the screen. This will download the chart of accounts template that we will need to prepare for the import as indicated in the screenshot below.

Step 4 – Enter Chart of Accounts Info into Template

An Excel template similar to the one below should have downloaded to your computer. Save the template to your computer.

There are a total of 9 columns in this template. However, you are only required to complete the first four columns with an (*); code, name, type and tax code. Below is a brief description of what information should be included in each column:

1. Code (Required) – A unique number must be assigned to each account. The code can be a maximum of 10 characters. It is used to group similar accounts together on the chart of accounts list.
2. Name (Required) – Each account must also have a name.
3. Type (Required) – Each account must be assigned a type. The primary account types are: asset, liability, equity, income and expense.
4. Tax Code (Required) – Enter the sales tax code that is applicable to each account. If you have not set up your sales tax codes yet, use the default code of Tax Exempt (0%). You can always assign tax codes after you have imported your chart of accounts list. However, be sure to do this before you enter any transactions. You can watch the How to Set Up Sales Tax lesson for step by step instructions.
5. Description (Optional) – Include a brief description of what type of transactions should be posted to the account.
6. Dashboard (Optional) – Indicate a “yes” or “no” in this column. By responding with a “yes”, the account will appear on the dashboard watchlist. The dashboard watchlist is a list of accounts that are visible on the your Xero dashboard as soon as you log into your account. This is a great feature to use for those accounts that you want to keep a close eye on.
7. Expense Claims (Optional) – Indicate a “yes” or “no” in this column to make the account available for use when filing an expense claim. An expense claim is used to request reimbursement for business expenses that were paid with personal funds. To learn more, check out the How to Create and Manage Expense Claims lesson.
8. Enable Payments (Optional) – Indicate a “yes” or “no” in this column to record payments using accounts other than a bank account. For example, owner’s contribution account can be used to reimburse the owner for personal funds used for business expenses.
9. Balance (Optional) – If you have an opening balance in this account, you can enter it in this column. In general, you will have opening balances if you are converting from another accounting system. However, you do not have to enter them here. Instead, we recommend waiting for our How to Set Up Account Balances lesson for step by step instructions.

NOTE: If you have foreign currency accounts, you cannot import those accounts. Instead, remove all foreign currency accounts from the spreadsheet. You will need to turn on the multiple currency feature first and then add foreign currency accounts to the chart of accounts individually to assign the appropriate currency.

In the How to Set Up Multiple Currency lesson we walk you through the steps to turn on this feature. Once that is completed, watch the How to Set Up Bank Feeds lesson to learn how to set up foreign currency bank accounts.

Tips on Formatting your Import File

• Tip #1 – Every column must have a column header.
• Tip #2 – You can have a maximum of 700 rows (1 column header) and 699 accounts. If you have more than 699 accounts, you will need to manually add the extra accounts to Xero. Be sure to check out How to Set Up a Chart of Accounts lesson for step by step instructions on how to add an account.
• Tip #3 – If you decide not to provide information for one of the optional fields (i.e. Balance) we discussed, you can either delete that column or leave the column heading and make sure that the cells are all blank.
• Tip #4 – Format the code column as text. You can find instructions on how to do this here.
• Tip #5 – Save the file in CSV format. (i.e. myxerochartofaccounts.csv).

Import your File into Xero

Below are the steps to import your chart of accounts file into Xero.

Step 1 – Navigate to Chart of Accounts

From the Settings menu, select General Settings as indicated in the screenshot below.

Step 2 – Navigate to Import Screen

From the chart of accounts menu, select the “Import” button as indicated in the screenshot below.

Step 3 – Import your Chart of Accounts

Below is a screenshot of the Import your chart of accounts screen along with a brief explanation of the info required.

1. What system are you Importing from? – You will notice that the only option here is Xero. This is because even when you import a chart of accounts list from another system, you must format all of the data using the Xero template like we did in this lesson.
2. Does the file you are importing contain account balances? – If you have included balances in the Balances column, then indicate “yes” here; otherwise your response will be “no”.
3. Select the file to Import – Click the “Browse” button and locate the csv file that you saved to your computer and select it.

Once you have selected the file that you would like to import, it will appear to the right of the “Browse” button as indicated in the screenshot below. Click the “Import” button.

Step 4 – Confirm accounts to Import

In the next screen, you will have a chance to review and confirm the total accounts that will be imported. If for some reason you find an error, click the cancel button to stop the import. Otherwise, click the “Confirm” button when you are ready to proceed with the import as indicated in the screenshot below.

Step 5 – Review the Accounts that were Imported

A summary of the accounts that were successfully added, updated, deleted or archived appears in the next screen. Below you will find a screenshot along with a description of the information provided in the summary.

1. Includes: This part of the summary provides a breakdown of the total number of accounts that were imported (42 new accounts and 11 updated accounts). Click the “View” link next to each category to see the account details. Here is a brief description of each category:
   1. New accounts – A new account is any account that did not previously exist in Xero or an existing account that you changed the code.
   2. Updated accounts – An existing account in Xero that you changed the name or description.
   3. System accounts – If the chart of accounts that you import does not include the required Xero system accounts, these will be included in the new accounts created and cannot be deleted. System accounts are set up by Xero for a specific purpose, (i.e. accounts payable, accounts receivable). For more info on what system accounts are and how they work, check out the How to Set Up a Chart of Accounts lesson.
2. Excludes: This part of the summary shows the accounts that could not be imported and the accounts that were either deleted or archived.
   1. Accounts that could not be imported due to errors – There are a couple of reasons why an account could not be imported; the account may already exist or one of the required fields that we discussed previously is missing information.
   2. Accounts that were deleted or archived – If you are importing a chart of accounts (and one already exists in Xero), it will delete (or archive) any account that is not in your import file. If the account was previously used in a transaction then it will be archived so that your financial statements remain intact. However, if the account has never been used then it will be deleted since it will have no impact on your financial statements. To learn more about delete vs. archives accounts, check out the How to Set Up a Chart of Accounts lesson.
3. Confirm: Click Confirm to close this screen out and return to your Xero account.

Wrap Up

That wraps up the section on how to import a chart of accounts list. The next lesson in our Xero Training Course will be how to set up products and services. In this lesson, we will walk you through the steps to set up products and services that you sell to your customers. To access this lesson or any of the others in the series, click here. For a free 30-day trial of Xero, click the button below.